I have had some changes over the last couple years that resulted in having a colonoscopy last month. (I'm 45.) Things looked okay so she did a blood test for Celiacs (gluten intolerance) and has had me following a Dairy Free diet over the last couple of weeks. I don't really like much meat so I have relied on dairy for protein frequently. Over the last two weeks, I have had some dairy with the Lactaid tablets but mostly tried to avoid it. I do have to admit things are much better without dairy. I'm not sure if the Lactaid has helped some or not. After a week of being dairy free I did try having cottage cheese with dinner one night as my protein and did not use Lactaid to "test" dairy out and I did have more problems so I fear I will have to get used to this new diet.

I had my follow up today and the doctor said my blood test for Celiacs was negative, BUT (hate that word sometimes), my numbers were low or something. Anyway I do have some antibodies and she felt that if going dairy free doesn't solve things for me, we should do a scope down the throat to take a biopsy from my small intestine which would be a definitive way of knowing if I have problems with gluten.

I opted to wait on that test for two reasons. First it doesn't sound fun, and second, I'm frustrated and sad about having to give up dairy and I would like to adjust to that before I might have to start also avoiding gluten.

Anyway, is anyone else dairy free? If so do you know if you have lactose intolerance or an allergy to the protein? She said there were 3 different things that it can be varying on what and how much I may be able to have eventually. (Not sure which I have yet.)

I am struggling most with cooking for my family as my husband is not the most adventuresome eater and to me the obvious are things like stir fry but he doesn't like vegetables and would probably start working late to avoid dinner. Anyone have good recipes or could point me to a website that does?

We've done dairy-free on and off for years - all of my children had milk allergies as babies/toddlers (that they outgrew) and I'm lactose intolerant.

Lactaid helps with lactose intolerance but won't help with an allergy.

What do you normally eat - it'll be easier to give ideas/recipes if I have a starting point. There are decent subs for milk but not, imo, for cheese. I preferred to go without rather than eat fake cheese. ymmv

We barely eat dairy. I actually think its probably healthier. My kids and I love almond milk. Try eating some quinoa for protein source. You can make a pudding with just chia seeds and almond milk in a container in the fridge overnight. It's really good with dark chocolate almond milk.

Other than cheese and really I mostly use American cheese, I don't eat a lot of dairy. I find the thought of milk disgusting and the rest I can do without. So what do you like? Do you like beans to where you can add them for protein? I love meat so I've never had that issue.

I'm not dairy free, but I was while nursing Andrew a long time ago. I am a big cereal eater and found that refrigerated rice milk (I liked the Trader Joe's brand) made a good substitute for nonfat milk. Soy milk was okay, but i dont really like the texture; to me it feels slick (althou the light chocolate Silk is quite good). Now there's almond milk too, and probably some others. Good for baking, cereal, drinking, etc. Cheese, though, that's still a dilemma. Are you trying to avoid every bit of dairy, with none in baked goods, for example, or simply obvious milk products?

In either case, it is hard to change your diet; it takes so much mental energy. I hope you find something that works.

Betsy, I don't even know yet if I need to avoid milk products that are IN things that aren't obvious or not. She said to start by avoiding everything and then see if what I can tolerate and if it's lactose intolerance it will probably just be obvious milk products but if it is more of an allergy, then it may mean lots of label reading permanently. I think you are right about it taking a lot of mental energy to change your diet. I think I'm still a bit shocked as I would never have guessed I had a problem with dairy but after avoiding it, I think the doctor may have hit the nail on the head. I'm grieving the thought of losing so many things I love to eat (I know that sounds so silly with so many greater problems people face) and I'm a bit overwhelmed since I have always had trouble finding things my family really likes for dinner since each person has such different tastes. Now I have another thing to consider as I try to figure out dinner each night.

Erin, I wish I liked meat! I do like beans and use those. I love dairy: milk, hot chocolate, yogurt, cottage cheese, real cheese with wheat thins and on and in and in things, cream or higher fat milk in my coffee, cream cheese on bagels and baking, milk on my cereal, etc.

Linda, I'm really not much of a cook (though I think that may have to change some) and my husband is odd in that he'd rather eat out or bring food home than eat homemade (with anyone cooking so it's not my cooking but his less than healthy tastes). We mostly have things with ground beef or chicken and like Italian and Mexican. Some of the recipes I make are pretty much unaffected but if I'm really honest about it, even recipes I make with cream of chicken soup have milk products because of the soup ingredients. Other than spaghetti, most of the italian favorites or pastas I make have some to lots of dairy (stuffed cheese manicotti, cheese ravioli, lasagna, etc.). A favorite lunch of mine is tomato soup made with milk (obviously I can make it with water but it doesn't even sound good). Quick dinner of grilled cheese and soup leave me with just the soup but at least the family could still have the sandwiches. I'm game to try recipes other families like. I should probably use my crock pot more often too. My husband and son like meat and Brittany and I will usually have a taste of meat and focus on the vegetables and starch. (This is the kind of meal I'd have some cottage cheese with and skip the meat.)

Hollie, thanks of the tips. I have found the Diamond Almond Vanilla Unsweetened seems okay and Silk Chocolate Almond too. Still not the same as a good glass of milk or hot chocolate but I figure eventually I'll forget that taste. I have to laugh at the chia seeds for pudding. I won't turn into a Chia Pet will I? Cha, Cha, Cha, Chia! Singing the ad here!

On the bright side, there is one frozen meal I have about once a week either for lunch or on a night when we all fend for ourselves, that is not only dairy free but also gluten free (in case that becomes an issue in the future) so not only can I still have it, but it was on sale right after I had to start this diet. Yeah for Amy's black bean and vegetable enchiladas which I promptly stocked up on!

Lora no real advice since our family eats dairy BUT I wanted to say we had to switch diets here recently too. We went to mainly vegetarian in April because my son decided he would no longer eat meat. What I found was that for the first few weeks it was kind of fun coming up with new recipes, then it felt like a huge burden, then it just became normal once I was used to having the right things on hand in the pantry. Also, in the beginning I was fine eating only vegetarian, then I went through about six weeks when I was really craving meat, and now I can take it or leave it. So be kind to yourself and know that it will go in phases! It's an adjustment for your body & your lifestyle and the results probably won't be immediate but they'll come...

Try searching the web for nice vegan family recipes -- there are surprisingly many that are really good and all will be dairy-free. I'll see if I can post some of our favorites and maybe something will work for you guys. Our kids tend to try pretty much anything though so I'm lucky that way... one thing I'll say is that a lot of vegetarian meals don't look very appetizing but usually end up tasting good!!

Quinoa Black Bean Patties: These are from my sister in law. They are a little bit spicy if you use the chipotle (I don't) They don't hold together super well. We eat them with sweet potato fries and broccoli, but she eats them in mini-pitas.

Combine quinoa and broth or water in a saucepan, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until quinoa is tender, about 15 minutes.Put one can of black beans + the chipotle + peppers in the food processor. This avoids overly spicy mouthfuls of chipotle and also helps to make everything else stick together. Add the other can of black beans + remaining ingredients, including cooked quinoa, and mash together. Shape mixture into 6 patties. Add a bit of olive oil to a frying pan and brown the patties, about 3 minutes per side.

We eat this a lot too, but I make it with spinach instead of kale (which we found too chewy in this recipe) and I use 1/2 cranberries 1/2 raisins because otherwise it's too tart. It's delicious. My kids love it and we serve it a lot as a side when company is over:

Thanks so much for the recipes and comforting words about getting used to a new way of eating. In some ways I feel stupid for even feeling sad or overwhelmed with this since it seems so trivial in comparison to so many things. I love that this group is supportive and I know I always have somewhere to come with concerns. Love you all!